Nearly one hundred years after the Henry Street Settlement was founded, this venerable institution still serves the people of the lower East Side of New York. Much of the credit for its survival may be attributed to its founder, Lillian Wald, who is also the author of this book.

The House on Henry Street was written at the height of the Progressive Era, when economic prosperity and an expansive spirit were pervasive, but when poverty and misery were the lot of countless new immigrants and families in urban areas. This book is the story of the early years of the Settlement...